The Roller Coaster that Will Help You Pass a Kidney Stone

Kidney stones are generally accepted as the male equivalent to giving birth; at least, from a pain perspective. And while arguably both can be unpleasant experiences, it looks like one of them can be helped a long in a very fun way, and that’s by riding a roller coaster.

Disney World is known as being “The Most Magical Place On Earth” and it can now at healing properties to its many claims. Researchers and doctors first began to take note when several of their patients were reporting passing a kidney stone after riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World, Florida.

“Basically, I had patients telling me that after riding a particular roller coaster at Walt Disney World, they were able to pass their kidney stone,” said lead researcher David Wartinger from Michigan State University.

Impressive; yes, but one patient even reported that he passed a total of three stones after riding the famous coaster on multiple occasions.

The results of the study are published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, and was conducted by the team using artificial kidneys and a range of kidney stones in order to determine the effect, if any, that the coaster had on allowing the stones to pass more easily. The results were surprising to say the least – at least, if you sat in the right seat.

A kidney stone is crystal that can grow in your kidneys when urine contains high levels of certain chemicals. Ranging in size from a grain of sand to the size of a gold ball, when these things develop, there is only one certainty; and that is that they have to come out, and the process is usually quite painful. However, now it appears that riding Big Thunder Mountain can ease your discomfort.

“In all, we used 174 kidney stones of varying shapes, sizes, and weights to see if each model worked on the same ride and on two other roller coasters,” said Wartinger. “Big Thunder Mountain was the only one that worked. We tried Space Mountain and Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and both failed.”

“The ideal coaster is rough and quick with some twists and turns, but no upside down or inverted movements,” said Wartinger.

So what does this mean for you. Well, according to Wartinger, if you are suffering from kidney stones, you are completely safe in trying out a roller coaster. “If you have a kidney stone, but are otherwise healthy and meet the requirements of the ride, patients should try it. It’s definitely a lower-cost alternative to health care.”